Note: Son of Robert I of Normandy and his concubine Herleva; he was a descendant of Viking raiders. Duke of Normandy from 1035; he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066, becoming the first Norman King of England. His wife was Matilda of Flanders. To claim the English crown, William invaded England in 1066 with an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen from Paris and Ile-de-France, who defeated the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. William then suppressed English revolts in the Norman Conquest. His reign brought Norman-French culture to England, had an impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages.